SOPA still on the menu

DailyTech reports the controversial SOPA bill is still not shelved as its backers are going to try to pass a revised version:

Undeterred by opposition from respected House Oversight Chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and the implied threat of veto from President Barack Obama, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) has revived the Orwellian "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) (H.R. 3261) and vows to pass a revised version "markup" version, even as its Senate counterpart the "PROTECT IP Act" (PIPA) (S.968) merrily chugs along, assisted by a king's ransom in bribes to U.S. Senators -- lobbyist donations estimated to total of 10 percent of the election costs of all current Senators combined.

The pork train will chug into Washington D.C., just in time to ruin Superbowl weekend with a storm of controversy. That week, after the parties return from their spring retreat -- doubtless comparing notes on how many PAC payouts they received from their Motion Picture Association of America and Recording Industry Association of America -- talk will turn to whether they can use some minor modifications to grease SOPA into the American annals.

SOPA still on the menu - More news at DV Hardware

DRAM prices still tanking

DRAMeXchange reports prices of DDR3 memory chips continue to fall due to oversupply, slow demand and shortages of HDDs. Full details at X-bit Labs.

According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, due to the weak demand for PC in November (some PC OEMs orders were even cancelled) the market remained slow. Affected by the inventory pressure, several DRAM manufacturers resorted to cutting prices. In addition, the DDR3 2GB spot price dipped 25% compared to last month, which gave the clients an edge in the contract price negotiation and in turn furthered the price drop. Although DRAM makers such as Elpida and Nanya reduced their capacities in November, the effect of downsizing will not kick in until Q1 2012. In the short term, the DRAM market will still be in a state of oversupply, with the contract price downturn most likely to continue through the end of 2011.

The contract price of DDR3 2GB dropped from $18.75 in May 2011 to the current average selling price (ASP) of $9.5, a 50% decrease; the spot price of DDR3 2GB plunged by 70% to $0.74. With price falling below the manufacturing costs of many DRAM makers, companies with weaker financial health have downsized their capacities or shifted their focuses to other sectors.

DRAM prices still tanking - More news at DV Hardware